Florida death is 12th in US due to exploding Takata air bags

An 81-year-old man from Hialeah, Florida, near Miami is the 12th person known to have died in the U.S. due to malfunctioning Takata air bag inflators. Ramon V. Kuffo was working on the interior of a 2001 Honda Accord with a hammer when the air bags deployed and the driver's inflator ruptured. His death was revealed on Monday. On Tuesday, Takata added 2.7 million vehicles to the long list of recalls due to the problem. Nineteen auto and truck makers are recalling about 70 million inflators in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide because they can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel at drivers and passengers. The deaths have occurred since May of 2009: